Portable washer



April 1968 K. KOUTSONICQLAS 3,377,120

PORTABLE WASHER Filed July 28, 1966 IN VE NTOR KONSTANTJ NOSKQJTSONICDLAS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,377,120 PORTABLE WASHERKonstantinos Koutsonicolas, 1156 Lillian, Windsor, Ontario, Canada FiledJuly 28, 1966, Ser. No. 568,475 1 Claim. (Cl. 401-4) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A portable washer consisting of a container connectable to asource of pressurized fluid, and having therein a rotatable impeller forreceiving soluble detergent or soap solids. The impeller is driven bythe water as it flows through the container thereby providing acleansing suds which is selectively directed through a discharge hose toa remote washer head. i

This invention relates to portable washers generally, and moreparticularly to a type of such washer capable of generating andselectively dispensing soap suds in the course of its operating cycle.

Most householders periodically Wash their storm windows, screens,awnings, lawn furniture, family car, and other items about the homewhich have become badly soiled by exposure to the elements. Such awashing operation usually consists of two steps; brushing the soiledsurface With soap suds and rinsing thoroughly with clear water. Foroptimum results, these washing and rinsing steps should be performed inrapid succession to prevent the soap suds from drying on the surfacebeing washed.

However, when the surface involved is severely soiled and relativelylarge, it is customary to wash and rinse small areas until the entiresurface has been cleaned. Therefore, since these washing and rinsingsteps are customarily performed by a scrub brush and an ordinarysprinkling hose, more time is necessarily consumed than would berequired if a single cleaning implement could be employed.

The applicant therefore has, as the primary object of his invention, theprovision of a portable washer which has a self-contained means forgenerating and selectively dispensing soapsuds in the course of itsoperating cycle.

Another object of the invention is to provide an implement of the typepreviously described, which is compact, easy to operate, and convenientto use.

A further object of the invention is to provide an implement of the typepreviously described which is rugged in construction, extremelyeffective in its operation, and

relatively inexpensive to produce.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparentafter consideration of a detailed discussion of the same composed withreference to the drawings constituting a portion of this application,and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of the applicants portable washershowing the various components and their relative size.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view taken substantially on plane 2-2 in FIGURE1, showing the container and the locations of the inlet and outletconnections.

FIGURE 3 is a section view, taken substantially on plane 33 in FIGURE 2,showing internal structural details of the container.

FIGURE 4 is a section view, taken substantially on plane 44 in FIGURE 1,showing the rotatable impeller, and the jet nozzle mounted in thecontainer.

FIGURE 5 is a section view, taken substantially on plane 5--5 in FIGURE1, showing the annular array of vertically disposed vanes on therotatable impeller.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged section view of the 3 way 3,377,120 PatentedApr. 9 1968 control valve in FIGURE 3, showing its internalconstruction.

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference is made tothe drawings in which numeral 10 designates a container having therein atop access opening 12. A removable cover 14 over the access opening 12is threadably engaged on the container, and seated on .a sealing gasket16. A carrying handle 18 is pivotally attached to the container 10.Intake and outlet conductors 20 and 22 respectively, are provided in thecontainer 10.

A connector element 24 is mounted on the outer end of the inletconductor 20 for attachment to a pressurized source of water supply nothere shown. A nozzle 26 is fixed on the inner end of the inlet conductor20 for reasons which will later appear. A tubular member 28interconnects the inlet conductor 20 and the outlet conductor 22. Acoupling element 30, on the upper end of the tubular member 28, connectsto a flexible hose 32.

A washer head 34, having a tufted face 36 with spray openings 38therein, is attached to the outer end of the flexible hose 32. Athree-way valve 40, with an operator arm 42, is mounted in the inletconductor 20 providing simultaneous control of flow through theconductor 20 and the interconnecting tubular member 28. Positive stops44 and 46 on the inlet conductor 20 provide operating limits for thethree-way valve 40.

An upright central pintle 48 is provided in the container 10. Arotatable impeller 50 is removably held on the upright central pintle 48by a retainer nut 52. The rotatable impeller 50 consists of a base plate54 with an annular array of curved blades 56 thereon supporting a top58. The top 58 comprises two hinged components 60 which lift to provideready access to the hollow interior of the rotatable impeller 50.

The preceding discussion completes a description of the structuraldetails of the applicants invention herein disclosed; however, to insurea more thorough understanding and appreciation of the subject matterpresented, a brief discussion will be directed to the manner in whichthe applicants washer operates to perform its intended function, andaccomplish the objectives set forth in the introduction of thisspecification.

In practice, the applicants portable washer is carried to the locationWhere it is to be used, and connected to a source of pressurized fluidby means of the connector element 24. The cover 14 is next removed, andone of the hinged components 60 raised. Soap solids 62, as shown inFIGURE 5, are then placed in the hollow interior of the rotatableimpeller 50, the hinged component 60 closed, and the cover 14 re-appliedto the container 10.

The three-way valve 40 is shifted with the handle 42 and placed in thefull line position shown in FIGURE 1. Pressurized fluid is therebypermitted to flow through the inlet conductor 20 and into the nozzle 26which directs a high velocity stream of liquid against the curved blades56 of the rotatable impeller 50. The rotatable impeller 50 is thuscaused to revolve, and agitate the water in the container 10 therebycausing the soap solids 62 in the impeller 50 to produce a soapsuds.

The soapsuds thus generated flows through the outlet conductor 22, anddischarges from the spray openings 38 in the washer head 34. Soapsuds ispermitted to flow until the soil on the surface to be cleaned has beenloosened sufficiently to be flushed therefrom by a clear Water rinse.The handle 42 on the three-way valve 40 is then shifted to the brokenline position 64 shown in FIG- URE 1.

Pressurized fluid is thereby directed through the tubular member 28, andflow through the container 10 is interrupted. The container 10 is thusby-passed, and water flows directly to the washer head 34 providing aclear water rinse from the spray openings 38. These Washing and rinsingsteps may be repeated as often as needed by merely shifting the operatorarm 42 of the three-way valve as previously described.

The desired discharge pressure at the washer head 34 may be varied asdesired by proper adjustment of the control valve for the water supplynot here shown, in the conventional manner well known in the art. Inpractice, the composition and size of the soap solids 62 for use in therotatable impeller 50, will be dictated by the type of soil to beremoved, and the degree of hardness and temperature of the water beingused.

Based upon the foregoing discussion, the applicant is of the opinionthat his invention has fulfilled a long-felt need in the field ofportable washers, and that he has accordingly made a valuablecontribution to the related art. However, while the invention wasdescribed with reference to the structural details of a singleembodiment, it will be appreciated by those familiar with the art thatthe principles involved are susceptible of numerous other practicaladaptations.

Therefore, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. A portable washer comprising a washer head, a container having anaccess opening therein and a support base, an upright central pintle onthe support base, a removable cover on the access opening, a rotatableimpeller on the upright central pintle, an annular array of spacedblades on the impeller defining an internal cavity for receiving soapand detergent solids, a top supported by the spaced blades providingaccess to the internal cavity, an intake in the lower portion of thecontainer for connection to a source of pressurized fluid, a nozzle inthe container communicating with the intake for directing pressurizedfluid against the spaced blades to actuate the rotatable impeller, anoutlet in the upper portion of the container, flexible fluid conductivemeans connecting the outlet and the washer head, fluid conductive meansinterconnecting the intake and the outlet, and valve means controllingthe intake and the interconnecting means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,019,705 11/ 1935 Hubert 15-5272,069,833 2/ 1937 Homer.

2,514,225 7/ 1950 Dabrohua 15-527 X 2,603,805 7/ 1952 Maestas 15-5272,613,381 10/ 1952 Tucker 15-527 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT I. SMITH, Assistant Examiner.

